Work environments associated with certain industries, such as the mining and construction industries, are susceptible to undesirable dust conditions. Mining, excavation, and construction sites, in particular, are susceptible to dust due to the nature of the materials composing the worksite surface. For example, ground surfaces of coal, shale, stone, etc., erode easily, and thus tend to produce significant amounts of dust. Moreover, typical work operations performed at these sites exacerbate the dust conditions. At a mine site, for example, cutting, digging, and scraping operations break up the ground surface, generating dust. In addition, heavy machinery, such as haul trucks, dozers, loaders, excavators, etc., traveling on such sites disturb settled dust, thereby increasing the dust level of the air.
These dust conditions may reduce the efficiency the worksite. For example, dust may impair visibility, interfere with work operations on the site, and require increased equipment maintenance and cleaning. In addition, dust conditions may affect the comfort, health, and safety of worksite personnel. To alleviate these conditions, a water truck may be used to reduce the amount of dust on the worksite. Specifically, the water truck periodically drives over the worksite and sprays the ground surface with water.
A mine site often includes sloped haul roads, including an entrance and exit ramp to the site. While it is desirable to prevent dust conditions on the haul roads, care must be taken to avoid spraying the entire surface of the road with water. Instead, portions of the road may be sprayed with water, while other portions of the road may remain dry. This way, if heavy machinery driving on the road begins to slide because of wet surface conditions, the heavy machinery will eventually encounter a dry portion of the road and stop sliding, and thereby avoid unintentionally leaving the road surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,896,258 to Hoisington et al. discloses a water truck that intermittently sprays a road surface with water. In the Hoisington patent, water is sprayed while the truck travels a first interval equal to a specified distance (e.g., 90, 120, 150, or 180 feet), and then the water is shut off while the truck travels a second interval equal to that same specified distance. The Hoisington patent uses a ground speed sensor to determine the distance that the truck travels, and provides a signal to a programmable logic controller (PLC) that turns the water on and off based on the travel distance.
The water truck described in the Hoisington patent suffers from numerous disadvantages, however. For example, although the Hoisington patent discloses that the water truck turns the water on and off based on the distance the truck travels, the ground speed sensor may not be able to accurately determine travel distances, especially when the truck is driving at a relatively slow speed. Thus, the water truck in the Hoisington patent may not be able to accurately control water delivery and shut-off.
The disclosed fluid delivery system and method are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.